Apparatus for handling sticky materials



June 28, 1955 R. J. RUSSELL APPARATUS FOR HANDLING STICKY MATERIALSFiled July 20,1953

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR. R J HUJJEL 4. 7M

HTTOFNE? June 28, 1955 R. J. RUSSELL 2,711,557

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING STICKY MATERIALS Filed July 20, 1953 5Sheets-Sheet 2 F/G, Z

INVENTOR. P. J P055541.

June 28, 1955 RUSSELL 2,711,557

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING STICKY MATERIALS Filed July 20, 1953 5Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. A. .x R05: :4 L

BY/W- APPARATUS FGR HANDLENG STICKY MATERIALS Robert J. Russell, York,Pa., assignor to Hardinge Company,'lnc., York, Pa., a corporation of NewYork Application .iuly 2t 1953, Serial No. 369,141

10 Claims. (Cl. 18-1) This invention-relates to apparatus particularlydesigned for handling sticky materials and, more specifically, toapparatus adapted to agglomerate or pelletize normally finely dividedmaterials in a pasty or sticky state for purposes of rendering the samemore suitable for further processing of the materials.

In processing many fine materials such, for example, as finely groundiron ore concentrates, phosphate concentrates, pyrite concentrates,limestone for making cement and other products, as well as zinc and leadconcentrates, it is desirable. to agglomerate or pelletize such fine orpowdered materials to improve the functioning of subsequent processingequipment. Conventionally, such agglomerating or pelletizing of thesefinely ground materials is accomplished in machines known in the artvariously as pelletizers, balling drums or nodulizing drums.

In feeding iron ore, for example, to a blast furnace, it is known thatthe operation of the blast furnace is greatly improved if the iron oreis in the form of balls or pellets rather than in finely divided orpowdered form. The same is true in feeding iron ore to open hearthfurnaces as well as in feeding the various materials of thosespecifically set forth above, as examples, to machines or apparatuswhich are to treat the material in processing it into various kinds ofmore efficiently usable products.

Most of the aforementioned machines used commonly for forming pellets orballs of material, of the nature referred to, comprise a cylinder whichis rotated by external means and through which the material is passedand tumbled while being formed into pellets or balls. The materialtreated usually contains a certain amount of moisture to obtain desiredplastic characteristics in order to cause the material to form intopellets or balls as the cylinder rotates. Depending upon the particularmaterial being processed and the nature and size of the desired product,said moisture may amount, for example,

to between 5% and 20% by weight of the material, which renders it stickyand pasty.

Tumbling this material in a drum or cylinder in an effort to formpellets, nodules, or balls frequently results in the material stickingto the inner surface of the drum or cylinder and builds up a layerthereon. Various means are used to attempt to control as well aspossible the size, density, and other physical properties of theagglomerated or pelletized product and also endeavor to remove it fromthe walls of the rotatable drum or shell. For example, scrapers aremounted within the shell to engage the material and separate it in lumpform and otherwise from the walls of the rotating cylinder. Suchscrapers extend longitudinally through said cylinder and are positionedtherein, usually close to the inner surface .there-' of, and supportedby means external of the cylinder. in other installations, spiral screwconveyor sections are positioned inside the cylindrical drum and arerotated so as to engage, break-up and separate the material therefrom.In still other installations, reciprocating cutters in the nature ofscrapers are supported inside the rotating drum so as to be reciprocatedfor achieving the foregoingfuncatent ice tions. The aforementionedexamples or meansfor removing the material from the inner surface of theshell of the cylinder as well as break up the accumulated and impactedmaterial are complicated and expensive both-to install and to maintainin use.

Rather recently, attempts to remove more easily and simply the materialfrom the inner surface of the rotating cylinder has included theprovision of a sectional flexible lining of rubber which will flex dueto its own weight as well as the weight of the material adhering to itwhen the shell is rotated. However, only a minimum amount of flexing ofthe rubber lining was possible and the results were usually notsatisfactory. An improvement in this type of arrangement comprised theprovision of holes in the shell of the rotating cylinder, whereby whenthe sections of flexible lining were suspended when the section waspositioned adjacent the top of the cylinder during the movement thereofabout the axis of the cylinder, air could be drawn into the spacebetween the inner surfaces of the cylinder shell and the rubber lining.The flexing of the lining could take place then more effectively thanwhen no holes were provided in the casing shell.

In the foregoing examples of rubber lining applied to rotatablecylinders or shellsythe rubber lining usually extended fully aroundtheinner surfaceof the cylindrical shell and throughout substantiallyits entire length. In order to attach the rubber lining to the shell,bars or other suitable attaching means, extending longitudinally of thelining and shell, were bolted or otherwise secured to the shell in suchmanner as to clamp the rubber lining between said bars and the shell.This arrangement did not prove very satisfactory because the expansionor pulsating of the longitudinally extending sections of the flexiblerubber lining was not uniform as the shell rotated. Only the centralportions of each longitudinally extend-- ing section of the rubberlining could flex to any extent and each sectionexpanded sequentiallyduring the rotation of the shell. Some of the material within thecylinder would tend to adhere to the lining, especially adjacent thelongitudinally extending ;bars which held the: lining to the shell.Experience has shown that such an arrangement of longitudinallyextending lining sections;

resulted in large chunks or gobs of the moistened material,

becoming dislodged on occasions from the inner surface of the rubberlined shell, especially in the vicinity of the: bars which secured thelining to the shell. These chunks; or gobs would fall into the mass ofmaterial in the lower portion of the cylinder, resulting in the samebecoming: impacted as well as destroying any partially or completelyformed balls or pellets of material in said material.

A more recent attempt to improve upon the rubber lining structuredescribed herein above has been to provide means between thelonigtudinally extending sections of-rubberlining and the cylindricalshell for purposes of facilitating the flexing of said sections duringrotation of theshell. These means have included the introducing ofliquid, gas or air, metal rods, or chains which operated against theinner surface of the rubber lining; that is the surface adjacent theinner surface of the shell. Thus, when said sections reached the upperportion of the travel thereof during rotation of the shell, force orpressure was exerted particularly against the intermediate portions ofsuch longitudinal sections and accented the flexing thereof more thanwould be possible when merely the weight of the sections of rubberlining and the material adhering thereto was relied upon to causeflexing of said sections. However, even this expedient did not result inany marked improvement in the efficiency of the device dueto the factthat the sameinherent fault remained, namely, that chunks or gobs of thematerial would be loosened from the rubber lining -asit rotated,especially from between adjacent sections thereof, and the same wouldfall into the mass of material in the lower portion of the shell,impacting the same as well as somewhat destroying some of the pellets orballs of material which previously had been formed in the cylinder.

An important object of the invention is to provide novel pelletizing andballing apparatus which will obviate the deficiencies of the previouslyand presently used mechanisms by including features in the novelapparatus which will accomplish continuous pelletizing and balling ofmoist sticky material to a maximum degree of efiiciency, withoutpermitting the material to stick to or build up around the interior ofthe shell.

Auxiliary to the foregoing object, it is a specific object of theinvention to provide a rotatable, cylindrical, drumlike shell havingendless sections of flexible lining extending circumferentially aroundthe interior of said shell, said sections being aflixed at the edgesthereof to longitudinally spaced circumferential portions of said shell,and fluid material being disposed between said shell and lining sectionsto effect the desired amount of flexing of said lining sections freelyand continuously, without interruption, in a circumferential direction,whereby continuous disrupting of the material from the lining takesplace, as well as pelletizing and balling of the material to be treatedwithout requiring the aid of scrapers, knives, spiral screw conveyors orother similarly functioning means to assure ready and automaticseparation of the material from the lining of the shell.

It is another object of the invention to provide novel scoop means onthe rotatable cylindrical drum-like shell, said scoop means beingprovided with flexible linings and fluid material being contained,preferably inescapable, between the walls of said scoop means and saidlinings, whereby flexing of said linings is accomplished automaticallyso as to prevent sticking or building up a layer of the material to betreated on said linings as said scoop means progressively feeds saidmaterial into said rotatable shell.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel drum-likepelletizing and balling apparatus and scoop feeding means thereon whichare rugged and durable, requiring a minimum of maintenance and operativepower, capable of long wear, simple in design to minimize constructionand installation costs, yet produce maximum automatic pelletizing andballing of moist pulverant material which automatically and effectivelyis separated readily and continuously from the scoop means and interiorof the rotatable shell or drum of said apparatus without tending tostick thereto or accumulate thereon.

Details of the foregoing objects and of the invention, as well as otherobjects thereof, are set forth in the following specification andillustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinally sectioned side elevation of an exemplaryrotatable drum-like pelletizing and balling apparatus embodying theprinciples of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an exit end view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, as viewedfrom the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional entrance end view of the apparatus taken on line33 of Fig. 1 and showing scoops for introducing material into theapparatus.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view, taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1, this viewillustrating in exemplary manner the functioning of the fluid materialentrapped between the circumferentially arranged flexible liningsections and the cylindrical shell for purposes of continuously anduninterruptedly pelletizing or balling the material being treated withinthe shell as it rotates in the direction of the arrow shown in saidfigure.

Fig. 5 is a vertical fragmentary section of the entrance end of theapparatus and illustrates, in exemplary manner and on a larger scale,the functioning of one of the feed scoops, including a showing of themanner in which the fluid material trapped between the flexible liningand the wall of the scoop functions to insure freeing the material beingelevated by the scoop from the latter when the scoop approaches theupper portion of its path of movement during rotation of the cylindricalshell and scoops.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary, longitudinal sectional view of the lower, lefthand end of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, shown on a larger scale thanin the latter figure, and also illustrating material being treated inthe rotatable shell.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly Fig. 1, the exemplaryapparatus illustrated therein comprises a preferably cylindricaldrum-like shell it) which may be formed from suitable metallic materialor otherwise. Said shell is provided with annular riding rings 12 whichare fixed to the exterior of the shell and said rings engage supportingrollers 14 which are somewhat diagrammatically illustrated in Figs. 1and 2. These rollers are supported rotatably by conventional bases 16.Conventional means, not illustrated rotatably drive the shell about itsaxis, said drive means preferably being of the type to providevariations in speed. The bases also support thrust rollers 18 whichengage the sides of the wear rings 12 for purposes of preventinglongitudinal movement of the shell 10 during the rotation thereof.Adjacent the exit end 20 of shell 10 is a product sizing meanscomprising an annular screen or grate-like sieve section 22 throughwhich fine material or small balls and pellets of inadequate size droponto conveyor belt 24.

As mentioned herein above, the apparatus illustrated herein is suitablefor pelletizing or balling a relatively wide range of material whichcontains a certain amount of moisture for purposes of rendering the samepasty and adapt it for forming pellets or balls thereof while the shell19 rotates. The material, which is generally designated 26, in Figs. 4through 6 is introduced usually in relatively finely divided form forpurposes of forming it into pellets or balls. In such finely dividedform, the material is not usable efliciently in other apparatus, such asa blast furnace, into which the material is to be introduced for furthertreatment. Therefore, to form pellets or balls of the material in aninexpensive yet effective manner, a certain amount of moisture isincluded in the material to render it somewhat pasty, as aforesaid.Depending upon the material as well as the size of the pellets or ballsto be formed therefrom, and also the density and other physicalproperties desired in the product, the moisture in the material mayvary, for example, from between 5% to 20% by weight of the material. Insuch pasty condition, conventional pelletizers and particularly thosenot provided with auxiliary means to remove the mate rial from the innerwall of the rotating shell of the pelletizer, the material tends tostick to the inner wall of the rotatable shell and this retards andimpedes pelletizing and balling of the material.

Also, as stated herein above, previous attempts to dislodge this pastyand sticky material from the inner Wall of the rotatable shell haveincluded the use of scrapers, reciprocating knives, rotatable screwconveyor sections, and other similar devices which are of a complicatednature and expensive to construct, operate and maintain. Further, theparticles or chunks of material removed by said previously used meansfrom the inner wall of the rotating shell have not been of efiicientlyusable shape and by no means compare favorably with the shape of productproduced by the present invention.

In previous installations where rubber lining has been used andparticularly those in which the linings have comprised longitudinallyextending sections which could be flexed by various means to dislodgethe material from the lining as the shell rotated, the pasty and stickynature of the material caused portions of it to at least temporarily bestuck to the lining especially in the areas Where the longitudinalsections thereof were attached to the shell wall. These portions ofmaterial which so adhered to the lining tended to drop off at intervalsin sizeable chunks or gobs and fall by gravity into the material in thelower. portion of-the rotatable, shell of the apparatus, therebyimpacting said material and, defeatingthe pelletizing, orballingfunctions of the apparatus. I

In accordance with the present invention, a vast improvement inpelletizing and balling pasty or sticky material of the type referred toisv achievedby providing the interior of the shell with a flexiblelining 28 extending circumferentially around the inner surface of theshell 16 Said lining preferably is endless circumferentially or, ifformed from sections, the ends of the sections are joined in a manner tobe liquid-tight and without offering an appreciable obstruction.Lining,28 is formed from sheet rubber which'will permit a desired amountof expansion for purposes to be described. In' order. to affix thelining 28 to said inner; surface of the shell 10, particularly where theshell is of appreciable length, a plurality of annular bandsi'stltarearranged in longitudinally spaced relation ship to each other along theaxis of and within the shel So as firmly to hold very narrow. annularportions of the lining 28against theinner surface of the shell Iii. Thebands 30 are as. narrow. as feasible so as not. to hinder the action ofthe lining sections 32 ,as described hereinafter. Usually, some meanssuch'as bolts or rivets, not illustrated, are used to fix the bands 39in position relative to the. shell ltland also to hold the annularsections of thelining in desired relationship to the shell 10 as well asto each other. Thus, as the shell 10 rotates, the annular sections 32 ofthe, lining are rotated therewith.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, a desired amount of fluidmaterial 34 is disposed between the inner surface of the shell 10 andthe adjacent surface of each annular section 32 of the lining. Suitableopenings, not shown, in; the shell 10 are provided for introducing thefluid material, the same beingcovered by preferably liquid-tightclosures. A desired and effective fluid mate rial may be selected from asubstantial range of suitable substances such as water, mercury,metallic shot, dry granular silica sand, or various kinds of organicliquids selected from a range having various specific gravities. Theselection of the desired fluid material will depend upon the specificgravity and mass of the material 26.

being formed into pellets or balls and contained within the shell duringoperation.

The pelletizing or balling function .of the apparatus, as performed byeach section 32 of the lining, is best illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6wherein, as the shell 16 is rotated in the direction of'the arrowillustrated in Fig. 4, the fluid material Sd, for an exemplary speed ofthe shell, will i assume in each section of the lining substantially theposition illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6. The rotative movement of theshell will cause the fluid material 34 to be disposed higher at one endthan the other, as shown in Fig. 4. Actually, the fluid material willremain substantially in the position shown in Fig. 4 at all times duringthe rotation of the shell 10 when substantially the same amount ofmaterial 26 is disposed against the lining section 32 and the rotativespeed of the shell 10 is constant.

As theportion indicated 36 of each lining section 32 approaches contactwith the fluid material 34, said portion will be flexed and stretchedaway from the shell 10 and, the thickness of the fluid material 34 tendsto increase as the upperend portion thereof is approached. Such flexingof the portion 35 ends to break up the pasty material 26 which,subsequently, will be caused to roll smoothly and uninterruptedly' downthe lining section 32; thereby being formed into balls or pellets as itrolls. The bulging upper portion of the fluid material 34- facilitatessuch rolling action by increasing the pitch of the slope of the liningand also somewhat massages the. lining section 32 so as to insureseparation of the materiall26 from the inner surface of the liningsections 32 engaged by the material 26. Pellets or balls 38 of: thematerial are illustrated in exemplary manner in Figs. 4 and 6, and thebulk of the same will usually be disposed in the most massive portion 40of the material 26 as shown in Fig. 4. in Fig. 6, a sectional view ofthe side of each section 32 isshown, as well as an exemplaryillustration of the treatment of thematerial 26. In Fig. 1, no material26 is shown to prevent complicating the illustration of details of theapparatus, and Fig. 6 better illustrates the processing of the material26. v

It will be noted from Fig. 1 that the longitudinal axis of the rotatableshell 10 is at an angle to the horizontal, whereby, as the material 26is introduced in powdered form to the entrance end 42 of shell 10,balling of the material will commence in the section 32 of the liningnearest the entrance end. Due to the angular arrangement of the axis ofthe shell 19, the material, after introduction into theshell, willgradually feed from engagement with one section 32 to the next sectionof the lining. The pelletsor balls formed during this procedure areusually small at first and, as they continue to be rolled, more powderedmaterial sticks thereto and the size thereof increases.

Depending upon the material being treated,the length of the shell 10,and the rotative speed of the shell, a substantial portion of thematerial 26 will be formed into pellets or balls of usable size by thetime the same reach the exit end 2% of the shell 30. Those pellets orballs which will not pass through the grate-like sieve 22 will bedischarged from the exit end 20 onto a suitable conveyor belt 44 andfrom there are moved to other processing apparatus such as a baking ordrying oven to harden the same and render them suitable for readyhandling and introduction into subsequent processing apparatus.

The powdered material or pellets and balls of inferior size whichapproach the exit end of the shell 1t! pass through the sieve 22 ontoconveyor belt 24 and are moved thereby into the annular hopper 46 forre-introduction into the shell '10-. Moist powdered material isintroduced initially into hopper 46 by a feed belt 48 and, after theapparatus has been in operation for a cor- The shell 10 illustrated inthe drawings is of substantial.

length and a plurality of lining sections 32 have been provided so asproperly to support the entire lining 23.

However, in apparatus wherein a relatively short shell is sulficient, itis possible the lining 28 would need no intermediate support such asbands 30 and only the opposite ends of lining 28 would be attached tothe shell 10 under these circumstances by means such as the end bands30, for example.

The sticky and pasty material 26 within the hopper 46, as well as theinferior sized pellets or balls therein are introduced into shell it) bynovel scoop means generally indicated 50, especially designed to handleeifi ciently the moist, pasty material 26. Said scoop means, in theexemplary illustration herein, comprises a plurality of scoops 52 whichare evenly spaced around said shell for balance and are rigidly attachedto the entrance end 42 thereof. In Fig. 1, these scoops are. illustratedin vertical sectional view whereas in Fig. 5, one of the scoops 52 isshown in sectional side elevation. These scoops preferably compriserigid side walls 54 shaped as shown in- Figs. 1 and 5. The scooping end56 of each scoop first engages the material 26 and, as the scoops arerotatively moved with the shell 10, a certain amount of the material 26is engaged by. each scoop 52 to elevate the same and, when suflicientlyelevated, the material in the scoop, will fall therefrom into theentrance end 42 of the shell 10.

To prevent the sticking or an accumulated build-up of a layer ofthematerial on the inner Walls of the scoops, the side walls 5- thereofare lined with flexible sheet-like sections 58 of material similar tolining 28. The curved end walls or sections of the scoops are lined withflexible sheet-like sections 6!} of similar material. These sections aresecured at their edges by any suitable means such as 4 clamping bands orotherwise to the edges of the sides and ends of the scoops 52. Fluidmaterial 62, usually similar to the fluid material 34 entrapped behindthe flexible sections 32 of lining 28, is trapped between the flexiblesections 58 and 6t) and the side walls 54 and end Walls of the scoops.Said fluid material 62 may be introduced behind the sections throughsuitable openings, not shown, in the scoop walls which are closed byfluid-tight closures.

This fluid material effects flexing and bulging of the flexible sections58 and 60 which line the scoops and thereby cause dislodging of themoist sticky material 26 therefrom so as to prevent accumulation of thematerial in the scoops and also insure introduction thereof into theshell 14 from the scoops. As the scoops 52 are elevated successively tomaximum dumping position shown by the upper scoop in Fig. 1, it will beseen that the fluid material 62 causes bulging of the flexible sections53 greatest toward the bottom, thereby effectively dislodging thematerial therefrom which is being dumped into entrance 42 of the shell.This maximum bulging also takes place in flexible lining 69 of the scoopin the same position, such action best being shown in Fig. 5, whereinthe scoop has not reached maximum elevated position wherein bulgingadjacent the inner end of the scoop will be maximum. Usually, no ballingof the material 26 takes place while moving within the scoops but it ispossible that a certain amount of balling or pelletizing may result.

In operation, as described herein above, the moist powdered and finelydivided material is introduced by conveyor belt 48 into the hopper 46.The scoops 52 sequentially move the material in the hopper to theentrance end of the shell 10. The continuously progressive flexing orpulsating of the lining sections 32 eifect pelletizing or balling of thematerial 26 as the shell it) rotates. powdered material, as well as thepellets or balls thereof which are formed adjacent the entrance end ofthe shell 10, will progressively move from one section 32 of the liningto the next, the pellets or balls 33 usually growing in size until theyapproach the sieve 22. Those pellets or balls which are of desired sizewill not pass through the sieve 22 and will move to the exit end 20 ofthe shell 10 where they are removed by conveyor belt 44. The powderedmaterial and pellets or balls of inferior size which reach the sieve 22pass therethrough onto conveyor belt 44 for re-introduction to thehopper 46. The pellets or balls 38 of suitable and desired size areconveyed by belt 44 to further processing apparatus for baking or otherforms of hardening treatment or otherwise. It will be understood ofcourse that the sieve 22 may be changed to provide a sieve of suitablespacings to cause pellets or balls of any desired size to pass toconveyor belt 44.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that from the time the sticky, pastymaterial 26 is fed to the apparatus by the conveyor 43, or otherequivalent means, to the time the pellets or balls 38 of desired sizeare formed and discharged onto conveyor 44, the material is constantlyand smoothly subjected to flexing lining action, in both the scoop means50 and shell 10, thus disrupting any tendency of the material to adhereto the lining or build-up in appreciable masses and thereby renderingthe pelletizing or balling action far more eflicient than in previouslyused machines. The apparatus comprising the present invention also isextremely simple and requires a minimum of operative power. Thepelletizing or balling of the material is achieved automatically by theseries of adjacent annular, circumferentially arranged flexible liningsections 32 which continuously and uninterruptedly cause the material toroll smoothly and evenly relative to the lining sections. Due to theoperation of the trapped fluid 34 in each section, progressive anduninterrupted pelletizing and balling of the material is effected. Noimpacting or build-up of the material on the lining occurs to anyapvreciable extent. Therefore, no scrapers or other types The ofauxiliary means are required to remove the material 25 from the innersurface of the lining 28 or to break it apart as was heretofornecessary. This apparatus may be regulated also as to rotative speed tocause the desired size of pellets and balls to be formed in usefulquantities by the time the same reach the sieve 22. Further, the fluidmaterial 34 is selected to have such specific gravity and fluidity as tobe suitable for operation with any particular material 26 and producepellets or balls thereof of any desired, substantially uniform size.This is insured further by the selected sieve 22. There is no tendencyfor the sticky, paste-like material to accumulate on any portion of theflexible lining 28 of the shell in view of the continuous anduninterrupted pulsating flexing and expansion of the adjacent liningsections 32.

While in the preferred embodiment, the lining 28 is formed from asuitable rubber composition, it is to be understood that other forms offlexible and preferably stretchable linings may be used which arecapable of adequately resisting'wear for extensive periods of time bythe material being treated and also of adequate durability to Withstandthe necessary flexing and stretching.

While the several preferred features and arrangements of the inventionhave been shown and illustrated herein, and the same have includedcertain details, it is to be understood that the invention is not to belimited to the precise details herein illustrated and described sincethe same may be carried out in other ways falling within the scope ofthe invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for treating pasty material comprising sticky particlescapable of being pelletized and balled by tumbling and comprising incombination, a substantially cylindrical drum-like shell mounted forrotation about its longitudinal axis, a flexible lining arranged toreceive said sticky material and extending continuouslycircumferentially around the interior of said shell and fastened theretoonly at circumferentially extending portions, which are spaced from eachother longitudinally of said shell, said lining when flexed forming aspace between it and said shell, and fluid material disposed betweensaid shell and lining and partially filling said space between saidshell and lining, said fluid material flexing said lining away from theinner wall of said shell uniformly and continu ously in acircumferential direction during rotation thereof and functioning todislodge material from the inner surface of said lining while beingpelletized and balled.

2. Apparatus for treating pasty material comprising sticky particlescapable of being pelletized and balled by tumbling and comprising incombination, a substantially cylindrical drum-like shell mounted forrotation about its longitudinal axis, a series of substantiallyadjoining lining sections extending continuously circumferentiallyaround the interior of said shell and arranged to receive material to bepelletized and balled, means fastening only the edges of said sectionsto said shell, said sections being continuous circumferentially andbetween the edges thereof being flexible away from said shell to formspaces therebetween, and fluid material disposed within the spacesbetween said shell and lining sections and partially filling the same,whereby when said shell is rotated said fiuid material is movable freelyand uninterruptedly in a circumferential direction within said spaces toflex said sections away from the inner wall of said shell substantiallyuniformly and continuously and thereby dislodge material from the innersurface of said lining sections while said material is being pelletizedand balled.

3. Apparatus for treating pasty material comprising sticky particlescapable of being pelletized and balled by tumbling and comprising incombination, a substantially cylindrical drum-like shell, meanssupporting said shell for rotation about its longitudinal axis andhaving an exit at one end and an entrance at the other, said axis beinghigher at the entrance end, whereby material will progressively feed tothe exit as the shell rotates, an endless flexible lining extendingcircumferentially around the interior of said shell continuously andfastened only at the ends thereof to said shell, said lining beingarranged to receive said material against the inner surface thereof andwhen flexed being free to separate from the shell except at itsconnectedends to form a space between said lining and shell, and fluid materialflowably positioned uninterruptedly in a circumferential directionbetween said lining and shell and partially filling the spacetherebetween, whereby when said shell is rotated the mass of fluidmaterial will tend to remain in a substantially stationary positionrelative to said support means and substantially uniformly andcontinuously flex said lining radially away from said shell at apredeterminedposition fixed relative to said support means to cause saidmaterial to be dislodged from the inner surface of said lining whilebeing pelletized and balled.

4. Apparatus for treating pasty and sticky material capable of beingformed into pellets and balls by tumbling and comprising in combinationa drum-like shell, means supporting said shell for rotation about thelongitudinal axis thereof, one end of said shell comprising an entrance,sizing means for pellets and balls on said shell adjacent the oppositeend thereof, a flexible lining arranged to receive said material andextending continuously circumferentially around the interior of saidshell between said entrance and sizing means, said lining being fixedonly at its ends to the inner surface of said shell and when flexedbeing movable radially away from said shellexcept at its connected endsto provide a continuous circumferentially extending space between saidlining and shell, and a mass of fluid material within and partiallyfilling said space, whereby during rotation of said shell said fluidmaterial mass remains substantially stationary relative to said supportand progressively and continuously flexes said lining uninterruptedlyand radially away from said shell as said lining moves in acircumferential direction uninterruptedly past said mass of fluidmaterial, thereby to dislodge the pasty material from the inner surfaceof said lining while being pelletized and balled.

, 5. The apparatus of claim 4 further including a plurality of meansextending circumferentially around the interior of said shell and spacedapart axially thereof, said means holding axially spaced circumferentialportions of said lining in tightly fixed relationship against the innersurface of said shell to provide a series of adjoining lining sectionseach extending continuously circumferentially and enclosing masses offluid material.

6. Apparatus for treating material of the class described to form thesame into pellets and balls comprising in combination, a drum-like shellmounted for rotation about an inclined axis, the higher end of saidshell comprising an entrance and the opposite end an exit, a flexiblelining extending continuously circumferentially around the inner surfacethereof and fixed thereto only at axially spaced and circumferentiallyextending portions of said shell, the areas of said lining between saidfixed portions being freely flexible away from said shell radially,fluid material between said freely flexible portions of said lining andsaid shell and operable as said shell is rotated so as continuously anduninterruptedly to flex said lining in a circumferential direction todislodge material uninterruptedly therefrom as tumbled by said shell,pellet sizing means adjacent the exit end of said shell and operable topass undersize material from said shell prior to reaching said exit, ahopper adjacent the entrance end of said shell, means operable to feedmaterial from said hopper to said entrance end of said shell, andconveyor means extending between said sizing means and hopper andoperable to effect re-introduction of said undersize material into saidhopper for return to said shell.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 further characterized by the means forfeeding material from said hopper to said entrance comprising scoopmeans operable to elevate said material as aforesaid, said scoop meanscomprising at least one scoop movable about an axis into said hopper andhaving on the inner surfaces of the walls thereof I flexible liningsfixed at the edges thereof to said scoop walls, and fluid materialbetween said linings and scoop walls operable to flex said linings assaid scoop moves about its axis, thereby to free from said liningsmaterial being moved to said entrance by said scoop.

8. Apparatus for treating material of the class described to form thesame into pellets and balls comprising in combination, a drum-like shellmounted for rotation about its longitudinal axis, one end of said shellcomprising an entrance, a flexible lining extending circumferentiallyaround the inner surface thereof and fixed thereto at axially spacedcircumferentially extending portions of said shell, thecircumferentially extending areas of said lining between said fixedportions being freely flexible away from said shell radially, fluidmaterial disposed between said freely flexible portion of said liningand shell and operable as said shell is rotated continuously to flexsaid lining uninterruptedly in a circumferential direction to dislodgematerial therefrom as tumbled by said shell, a hopper adjacent saidentrance end of said shell, scoop means comprising at least one scoopfixed to said entrance end of said shell and extending substantiallyradially therefrom and having a scooping end movable into said hopper assaid shell is rotated, said scoop being defined by walls, flexiblelinings affixed at the edges thereof to the inner surfaces of saidwalls, and fluid material entrapped between said linings and scoop wallsand operable as said scoop is elevated by said shell about its axis toflex said linings and free therefrom material being moved to saidentrance by said scoop.

9. Scoop means arranged to handle material tending normally to stick tothe walls thereof and comprising in combination, side walls connected byan end wall to define a scoop structure, sheet-like flexible liningmaterial fixed adjacent the edges thereof to the inner surfaces of saidside and end walls and being flexible away from said walls in the areasintermediate said' edges thereof, and fluid material entrapped betweensaid lining material and scoop walls and operable progressively to flexsaid lining material as said scoop is moved between filling anddischarging positions to free from the walls thereof material beinghandled by said scoop means.

10. Scoop means arranged to elevate and dump material tending normallyto stick to the walls thereof and comprising in combination, a scoop,and means connected thereto and rotatable about an axis; said scoopbeing spaced from said axis and comprising side walls connected by anend wall to define a scoop structure, sheet-like flexible liningmaterial fixed adjacent the edges thereof to the inner surfaces of saidside and end walls and flexible away from said walls in the areasintermediate said edges thereof, and fluid material entrapped betweensaid lining material and scoop walls and operable progressively to flexsaid lining material as said scoop is moved about said axis betweenfilling and discharging positions to free therefrom material beinghandled by said scoop means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,921,114 Brackelsberg Aug. 8, 1933 2,158,513 Lloyd May 16, 19502,523,258 Ransohoff Sept. 19, 1950 2,603,832 Clark et al July 22, 1952

1. APPARATUS FOR TREATING PASTY MATERIAL COMPRISING STICKY PARTICLESCAPABLE OF BEING PELLETIZED AND BALLED BY TUMBLING AND COMPRISING INCOMBINATION, A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL DRUM-LIKE SHELL MOUNTED FORROTATION ABOUT ITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS, A FLEXIBLE LINING ARRANGED TORECEIVE SAID STICKY MATERIAL AND EXTENDING CONTINUOUSLYCIRCUMFERENTIALLY AROUND THE INTERIOR OF SAID SHELL AND FASTENED THERETOONLY AT CIRCUMFERENTIALLY EXTENDING PORTIONS, WHICH ARE SPACED FROM EACHOTHER LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID SHELL, SAID LINING WHEN FLEXED FORMING ASPACE BETWEEN IT AND SAID SHELL, AND FLUID MATERIAL DISPOSED BETWEENSAID SHELL AND LINING AND PARTIALLY FILLING SAID SPACE BETWEEN SAIDSHELL AND LINING, SAID FLUID MATERIAL FLEXING SAID LINING AWAY FROM THEINNER WALL OF SAID SHELL UNIFORMLY AND CONTINUOUSLY IN A CIRCUMFERENTIALDIRECTION DURING ROTATION THEREOF AND FUNCTIONING TO DISLODGE MATERIALFROM THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID LINING WHILE BEING PELLETIZED AND BALLED.